D.M. or Ph.D.? Succeeding Beyond The Choice

If you want to achieve professional success, having a degree is definitely a plus, but it’s not the only contributing factor in that success. Here are three additional tips to help propel you toward your professional goals:

Earn the “right” degree. In D.M. or Ph.D. in Management?, I describe what distinguishes the two degrees. Now it’s up to you to make the choice that best fits your career goals. I chose to pursue a D.M. degree because it gave me knowledge and skills I could apply immediately to my work, at the time, as an entrepreneur and consultant. Today, as an administrator in higher education, my D.M. degree continues to serve me due to the strong research component required to earn the degree.

Expose yourself to opportunities. When I earned my D.M., I didn’t have plans to switch careers from consulting to higher education, but when opportunities arose to make the career transition I was open to exploring a new career path. While my move to higher education wasn’t planned, it was definitely strategic. I positioned myself to receive opportunities by actively networking and developing contacts, and also by volunteering my services in areas I hadn’t experienced yet, like higher education consulting.

Build your network. When you’re in a D.M. program, you’re usually placed in a cohort, which is the group of people who start and finish the program with you. It’s an instant network! My cohort happened to include senior executives, CEOs and founders of successful enterprises. These are people I now consider to be friends and lifelong professional colleagues. Years after earning our degrees, we continue to keep in touch, often reaching out to collaborate on projects or exchange referrals.

As you consider which degree program to pursue – D.M. or Ph.D. – be sure to think about more than the education itself. What you’ll learn is important, but so is what you’ll do with that knowledge and the connections you make along the way. To your success!

Emad Rahim, D.M., PMP, CTU Faculty, Business and Management, is a PMI Certified Project Management Professional®. Dr. Rahim has more than 10 years of experience in business development, nonprofit administration, management consulting and project management.

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Colorado Technical University (CTU) is not regulated in Texas under Chapter 132, Education Code. Please see the Accreditation & Licensure section for information on the agencies that approve and regulate the school’s programs, including contact information for each agency.

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